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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152503">Dragon Falls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyseeker/pseuds/Keyseeker'>Keyseeker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Dragon!Ivan, Dragon!Juleka, Dragon!Kagami, Dragon!Nino, Dragons Can Talk, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:02:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyseeker/pseuds/Keyseeker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The village was on fire.</p><p>Big surprise, right? This only happened oh, every week or so since he was born.</p><p>Not that he’d ever gotten to see it before. </p><p>Perk of being the Chief’s son; getting to live in a big fancy house.</p><p>Downside of being the Chief’s son; his father actually being able to afford good enough locks and to order villagers to guard the house to make sure he couldn’t leave.</p><p>He understood, he really did. His mother had been snatched by a dragon last year. It was hard to blame him for being a little… protective.</p><p>But he HAD to show Father he could protect himself! Could make the village proud.</p><p>Could handle dragons on his own.</p><p>----------------------------------------</p><p>Adrien just wants to prove he's tough enough for the Dragon Slayer class, to learn alongside the other teens instead of being cooped up all the time.</p><p>Kagami's just trying to survive under the Queen's reign, like most other dragons.</p><p>But when Adrien sneaks out to try to take down a dragon, he sets off a chain of events that changes both their worlds.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The village was on fire.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Big surprise, right? This only happened oh, every week or so since he was born.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that he’d ever gotten to see it before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perk of being the Chief’s son; getting to live in a big fancy house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Downside of being the Chief’s son; his father actually being able to afford good enough locks and to order villagers to guard the house to make sure he couldn’t leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He understood, he really did. His mother had been snatched by a dragon last year. It was hard to blame him for being a little… protective.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he HAD to show Father he could protect himself! Could make the village proud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Could handle dragons on his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most young vikings started training to combat dragons once they turned thirteen, in dragon slaying class.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father had forbidden him from doing so, saying it was too dangerous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But somehow it’s not too dangerous for anyone ELSE’S kid,” he grumbled to Alya whenever he managed to sneak over to her (or she snuck over to him, which was more common. She could be as sneaky as a fox when she wanted to be.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No one else has Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt for a parent,” she said, vaguely gesturing in the direction his father had gone in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But this dragon raid, his main bodyguard, Gorilla, had needed to leave to help the rest of the village.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which meant he could finally put his plan into action.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grabbing a staff he’d been training with privately (well as best he could, without a formal teacher), he set out to help protect the village.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ok so maybe “plan” was overselling it a bit. He just thought if he could get out there he could prove himself, and then maybe, just maybe, Father would back off and let him train with the other kids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he hadn’t banked on the amount of chaos going on around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>People screamed, stuff collapsed, sheeps bleated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Admittedly that last one was normal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And the previous two things weren’t exactly unusual either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Screaming while charging dragons was different though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>DRAGONS!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment he was stunned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some the size of a house cat, others as big of a house, some long and lanky, some short and stout.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d seen pictures of course and the occasional dragon here and there when a raid first started, but never so many at once - he was always sequestered inside by this point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then a passing dragon whapped him in the face with its tail while chasing after one of his neighbors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maaaaybe best to NOT stay still gawking in the middle of a battle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok so, he needed to find a dragon to fight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked from side to side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a lot of dragons, but most of them were pretty well occupied already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And also running.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or flying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hard to catch a flier.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seriously there were plenty of dragons, why was this so-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His thought was cut off by a fire blast, which he barely managed to avoid in time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then a lightning… ball? He didn’t know lightning could even DO that. But that’s what it looked like. That one he was forced to drop to the ground to avoid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Couldn’t dodge the water blast though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spluttered, drying his eyes as he scrambled to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And finally got a good look at the dragon that’d attacked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Its ruby red scales glimmered in the firelight. Not that it was entirely red - a stripe of black curled around its body, gold scales lining it, accentuating the contrast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stopped breathing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It eyed him carefully, its pupils drawn into tight slits. Slowly, the dragon approached, waving its tail from side to side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was suddenly acutely aware that he was a small fourteen-year-old with no formal combat training going up against a DRAGON, a creature which even the most experienced vikings struggled - and usually failed - to subdue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It crouched.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tensed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It sprang.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He barely got out of the way in time, the fire blast setting the plank above his head ablaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(There was always new construction going on in the village, what with all the fires.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The structure creaked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If he didn’t move quickly, the whole thing might collapse on him!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...Waaaait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want me?” he smirked at the dragon. “Come and get me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took off, just skirting the edges of the flaming partially constructed house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon loped after him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, it was faster than him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, he didn’t have to get very far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as it caught up to him, a blast readying in its throat, he turned around, smirked-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then hit the structure at just the right point to send it careening onto the dragon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It crashed down, sending smoke and debris anywhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A girl shrieked in pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked around wildly, trying to locate the viking in question so he could get her to safety-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then realized it was coming from the dragon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t realized dragons could sound so human.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rubble moved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...That wasn’t good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon burst out, running headlong into the forest, breathing heavily, eyes closed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While there were no visible puncture wounds from what he could see (not a huge surprise, dragon scales were tough as hell; it took a LOT to break through their hide), it was holding its wings awkwardly and seemed a bit dazed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He followed it into the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Yep, the dragon was definitely dazed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’d begun stumbling around more and more, to the point it looked like the average viking after having too many drinks, crashing through bushes and into the occasional tree, which didn’t exactly help. While it didn’t notice the branches and thorns scraping past it, each time its wings were jostled it let out that unsettlingly human yelp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then it stumbled over a small cliff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It fell heavily to the ground-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feeling his way around (thankfully the moon was nearly full, but it still wasn’t exactly bright outside, especially in a forest), he came to an opening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A red mound of scales lay on the ground in the clearing, not moving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was- was it dead?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He expected to feel jubilation, or at least satisfaction. He’d killed one of the beasts who’d plagued his village for decades after all, and maybe with this, his father would see that he didn’t need quite as much protection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead he just felt sick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, carefully, he approached.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It looked a lot smaller when not threatening him; its torso was only three feet long, its tail adding about two and a half more feet to its body length.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tail twitched.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok, maybe time to back away-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It opened its eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They looked different from how they had before. Maybe because of the low light?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But… something about it, the way it looked at him, made him think it was more than that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It whined softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He- he should kill it here, before it could recover. Or- or lead the villagers to it so they could take care of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dragons were terrifying creatures, pests that stole their sheep, their livelihood, and delighted in hunting humans if they couldn’t get their preferred meal. That’s what he’d been told, by his neighbors, by his friends (though they were mostly parroting what their friends and teachers had told them) and his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But his mother had always been a little softer towards them, questioning why they were so fixated on sheep when there was other prey to hunt that didn’t come with a side order of axes-to-the-face, and generally being less gung-ho about hunting them down than everyone else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And right now, something inside him was screaming that if he led to this creature’s death, it’d be the worst mistake he ever made.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t do much for it injurywise - he wouldn’t even know where to begin. He wasn’t exactly a vet or a doctor and all its injuries appeared to be internal anyway, except for its wing injuries.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wings themselves appeared to be mostly intact, but the wing JOINT-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He winced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the wings was off at a strange angle, seeming to have been wrenched out of place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That… may actually be something he could help with. He’d seen limbs put back into position before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He may not be the ideal person to try it, but it was either him or no one. The vet would be more likely to kill the dragon than to try to get it flying again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Moving to its side, he carefully positioned himself behind it, grabbed the joint firmly, and pulled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A scream ripped through the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dragon flailed wildly, looking all around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then spied him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It gave him an icy stare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It rolled around, trying to get to its feet-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And fell over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly he backed away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It narrowed its eyes, but didn’t pursue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he was out of view, he ran.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He may not be willing to kill the dragon, but that didn’t mean he wanted to stay and potentially become dragon chow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Light filtered through her eyelids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sadly, groaning didn’t actually cause the sun to reverse and go into hiding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Against her wishes, she woke up the rest of the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And very much wished she hadn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every part of her body ached. She felt like she’d just been hit with a sledgehammer between her eyes, and her wings…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tried to shift them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Big mistake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Searing pain ripped through her, forcing her to let out a yelp. Craning her neck around, she got a good look at them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They appeared intact, but the joint of one of her wings was severely swollen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She winced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dragons healed quickly, but an injury like that was likely to take a week or more to recover from. In the meantime, she was grounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What even HAPPENED?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Casting her mind back, she tried to recall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The memories were fuzzy, as they always were after a raid. The queen’s compulsions dulled higher order thinking, replacing it with her own will - mostly “get food”. Sheep were her favorite.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While she’d been off hunting for the Queen numerous times, this was her first time going up against humans. These were by far the most dangerous hunting grounds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And now here she was, alone, in a valley, badly injured, unable to fly away, and-</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A face swam across her vision, blond hair and a smirk, and then-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The structure collapsed on her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shuddered. Well, that explained the injuries. But what happened after that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Branches brushed against her, uneven ground occasionally causing her to stumble. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She didn’t pause, just getting up and running some more.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>All she knew was she needed to get far away from there, to somewhere safe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A short fall, trying to spread her wings and finding one wouldn’t move properly-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And then she was on the ground.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She faintly heard leaves rustling, but couldn’t bring herself to move.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>PAIN.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Something CRACKED, going back into place.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Flailing a little, she opened her eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>THE BOY.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tried to get to her feet-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And fell.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He ran.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She passed out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That crack… did that boy relocate her wing joint?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And he hadn’t come back with backup, even though she was unconscious and helpless…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though that part might be due to it being night at the time. She had decent night vision, but from what she’d heard about humans, theirs was atrocious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hauling herself up (and grimacing a bit at the soreness) she set about investigating her surroundings.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>This area she’d fallen into was pretty nice at least. Only one entrance in or out (unless you could fly or felt like falling fifteen feet), with a small freshwater pond and some nice spots for sunbathing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The single entrance made things tricky. On the one hand, it meant she couldn’t be surrounded by vikings. On the other hand, it meant that she had no escape route.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Probably best to avoid it except for getting drinks of water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her stomach made her other needs known, giving out a rumble.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighed. Hopefully prey was plentiful.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>An hour later she’d caught and eaten three rabbits and a squirrel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turns out they weren’t used to being sprayed with water or electrocuted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No fire blasts. While that would certainly have done the trick as well, setting the forest on fire while she was in it didn’t seem like the best idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her ears pricked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Voices floated up from somewhere close by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hid behind a bush as well as she could. Even injured, she’d probably be able to fight off a couple vikings, but best to gather intel first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...you think it’s still there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Probably. It was hurt pretty badly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flash of yellow caught her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A boy and a girl traipsed into view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy… that hair looked a lot like what she remembered from before, with the attack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The brown-haired girl was new though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She darted out of the bush. The brunette raised her axe instinctively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Keeping an eye on her (the axe probably wouldn’t do MUCH damage, but it partially depended on where she was hit…) she faced the blonde. “Why didn’t you kill me before?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both the humans’ mouths dropped open as their eyes bugged out of their heads.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tilted her head to the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What were they doing? Was this some human signal?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had a difficult enough time reading DRAGON body language, did she have to master human nonverbal communication as well?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU CAN TALK?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They didn’t know that? “Of course I can-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They only ever raided the humans when under the Queen’s influence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And while being controlled by her, they were little more intelligent than the prey they hunted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve never heard us talk before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy stared off into the distance. “Those sounds I heard you making before, the screams… I… I thought they sounded too human. I- I guess… I guess now I know why.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl put her hand on her chin. “I’ve been through a lot of dragon raids. One of the first things I learned was how indistinguishable dragon cries were from human cries and I just… no one ever thought, even CONSIDERED why that might be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blinking, the boy snapped out of his daze. “Well there was Alix’s brother’s theory.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jalil’s… oh right!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned to face Kagami. “Uh… you’re not secretly a banished viking, cursed to wander the skies in the shape of a beast, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Humans were weird. “I am fairly certain I am not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So why can you talk? Why haven’t any dragons talked to us before? Oooh can only SOME dragons talk? Why have you guys been raiding our town? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A squeal emanated from somewhere close by. It took her a moment to realize it came from the girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do- do you know what happened to my mom?” a voice asked quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice quavering with hope, the boy looked up at her, almost seeming to plead for her to say ‘yes’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hated to disappoint him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But lying would hurt more. “This was my first raid. I know nothing about any specific humans.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He went quiet, looking down at his feet. The girl put an arm around his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As for the other questions, it does depend on species. Most dragons can talk, but there are a few who do not have the intelligence required to do so, as well as a few others who communicate through other means. All of us who are sent to raid your village are able to talk, however.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl frowned. “Sent?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“By the Queen. She bends us to her will, forces us to hunt for her, to please her. Some have tried to escape-” She shuddered. “But few have succeeded. She- she can hypnotize us, make it so we have to follow her commands, even miles away. Anywhere her voice can reach, she can take control. And it can last for awhile - up to a day. Your village is just outside the edge of her sphere of influence.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked down. “While under her power, we cannot speak, can barely think. If we could keep our wits, keep our sense of self-” she spat, “-then we might be able to oppose her, to throw off her control. Her call suppresses that part of us entirely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two humans looked at each other. “The dragons - every time we’ve captured one, my father’s ordered them killed almost immediately. They- they never got a chance for the Queen’s influence to wear off!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The color drained from the boy’s face. “They were killed… and they weren’t even in control of themselves at the time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl nodded. She looked like she’d hurl if she opened her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A low growl escaped Kagami’s throat. She’d heard stories of the dragons who’d never made it back, mourned the fallen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While she’d saved some of her ire for the Queen for forcing her subjects into such a dangerous situation in the first place, she’d also harbored some fear and anger for the humans who actually killed the dragons involved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But they hadn’t known.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To them, it was no different than her killing those rabbits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got to tell everyone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl turned, started to head back. The boy caught her arm. “Wait. I want to stop this as much as you do, but do you really think they’ll believe you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She let out a frustrated noise. “Well if a dragon’s TALKING, they’ll have to, won’t they?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “If they see a dragon in the village, do you really think they’ll all sit down and have a conversation with her? Or just attack immediately?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not entering the village,” Kagami interjected. No way she was being kept out of this conversation. “My wing is still injured and I do not know if I can trust them to just talk. And while you two seem friendly, I have not forgotten how often you humans have hurt or killed us. I accept that you may have done so based on limited information, but they are still dead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl looked away and sighed. “Yes, but… but what about next raid?! I- I don’t want to watch someone get killed if I could’ve prevented it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all stood looking at each other awkwardly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned around and started loping off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, where are you going?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It does not look like anything will be settled here and I must explore the rest of the island, try to find a better resting spot. I do not wish to risk being discovered and murdered by a random human.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy called out again. “But- but how will we find you again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stopped, closing her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These humans honestly seemed like they wanted to help. Like they didn’t mean any harm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she also barely knew them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will find you. My hearing and sense of smell far outstrips what you are capable of. If I deem it safe, I will appear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t completely trust them yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she wanted to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning around again, she got two dragon-lengths away-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WAIT!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” the boy pointed at himself and then at his companion. “I’m Adrien, and this is my friend Alya.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien and Alya…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She mouthed the words for a moment, getting used to the feel of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It made this feel more… official somehow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They weren’t just “those humans”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were Alya and Adrien.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And maybe, just maybe</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the future she might call them ‘friends’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am Kagami.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She raced off, this time without interruption.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all had a lot to think about.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Just gotta pull up the rope and-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>SUCCESS!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien smiled to himself, smug with satisfaction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t always use the whole shimmy-down-a-rope trick to escape - not when Nathalie or anyone who was likely to report his escape to his father were around - but with most of the adults off having a council meeting? Anyone who’d rat him out were already busy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Technically Gorilla SHOULD, but well- he’d figured out a long time ago that while Gorilla may be under Gabriel’s employ, he primarily cared about Adrien, not Gabriel’s orders, and while he wanted Adrien to be safe, he valued his ability to spend time with his friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He probably wouldn’t be so lenient if he’d known that Adrien had snuck out with Alya to meet up with a DRAGON (and talk with her! He still wasn’t over that) but that was neither here nor there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Her name’s Kagami…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt so weird, knowing a dragon’s name. Usually they were just referred to as “those brutes”, “those awful creatures” or “THAT *@%#  *&amp;#@$ THAT SET ME ON FIRE”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But… but she was a PERSON.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They just needed to find a way to get everyone else to see that - WITHOUT massively endangering Kagami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As much as he wanted to believe all the people of the village would instantly stop if they heard Kagami speak, he knew his father too well. Even before his mother was taken away, he HATED dragons. Whenever Mom pushed that maybe there was something more going on, that perhaps if they figured out why they were so dead set on stealing from the village despite the hassle, they could make peace with the dragons, he just said she was being ridiculous. And if she persisted, became heated, he’d just say she was hysterical and to leave until she was no longer so emotional.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d always cuddled with her after those fights. She looked like she needed it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The way she’d stroke his hair, would smile and hug him close-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flopped onto his bed, hugging his old cat plush, Plagg, close to his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mom had given it to him when he was five. He’d woken up after a nightmare, scared that some monsters would leap out from the shadows and eat him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father had not appreciated being woken up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Returning to his room, he’d tried to keep Father’s scathing tone out of his head as he’d berated him for being too old for such nonsense, to never bring up such silly things to him again and to let him sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t feared monsters the rest of the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d been too busy fearing his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The following morning Mom had handed him a soft black plush kitty. “He’ll protect you when you sleep, comfort you while you’re awake,” she’d explained, giving him a small, tired smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But won’t Father get upset?” He’d asked fearfully. Father had always scoffed anytime he’d eyed a soft toy, a doll, anything he deemed ‘childish’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be our little secret,” she’d told him, crouching down to eye level. “He’s a hidden protector, just for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d kept Plagg close ever since. Father never had a clue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did Kagami have a comfort toy?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Parents who missed her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Worried friends?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What did dragons DO when they weren’t raiding Berk?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Kagami herself…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hoped she was okay. She seemed to be coping fine and wasn’t in obvious pain but - well she’d said it herself, she was still injured. Being alone on an island full of people who wanted you dead couldn’t be very pleasant either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But being mind-controlled by the Queen…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shuddered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That didn’t seem much better.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All the dragons had been living under that- that tyranny for decades at LEAST! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As bad as they’d had it living under constant threat of dragon attacks, at least they’d all had their minds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gripped his bedpost tightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing the difference between Kagami now, freed from the Queen’s influence?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Kagami before, not being able to do more than growl?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He REALLY wanted to punch the Queen in the face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d probably break his hand doing so, maybe get eaten soon after (if it was that easy to harm her surely some dragon would’ve taken her out already) but DAMN would it be satisfying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The front door creaked, then closed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien, come here,” his father said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The clan meeting was done ALREADY?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking the stairs two at a time, he hurried to his father’s side. Keeping him waiting was a bad idea. He’d learned that the hard way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d your trip go?” Adrien asked. Father’d been off searching for the dragon’s nest with several of his closest followers. He’d taken many such trips over the years, hoping to find a way to end the threat the dragons posed once and for all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back when his mother was still around he’d looked forward to such trips. Mom always seemed a little more lively, her eyes a little brighter, her shoulders a little looser while he was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nowadays he still appreciated how much easier it was to sneak out while he was gone, but… Father was his only remaining parent. He wanted him around. To at least not be alone in this big empty house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We still haven’t found those wretched dragon’s homes,” Gabriel said bitterly, “but it’s only a matter of time. Our journeys have not been in waste, whatever the rest of the village may think. Especially with certain… alternative control measures coming to light.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien’s heart dropped into his stomach. “Wh-what? What kind of measures?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never you mind. You’ll see - EVERYONE will see - soon enough. We’re setting out again tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So soon? But you just got back!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally Father stayed in the village for a few months, a week at least, in-between journeys. He WAS the Chief after all; he had certain decisions to oversee, disputes to settle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d never had such a short gap between arriving and leaving again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I must capture the ingredients for my plan to work. Soon, we shall have our revenge on dragonkind.” Gabriel smirked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien’s chest tightened. “Father, what if… what if there was more to it? What if the dragons didn’t WANT to attack us? What if-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*SLAM*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien shut his eyes instinctively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hot breath cascaded down his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened his eyes a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father’s face was a foot away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His arm still extended, his fist against the wall where he’d slammed it two inches away from Adrien’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never say - never SUGGEST - again that we should show the dragons leniency. I thought you cared about your mother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do! But-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you loved her, you’d want to rid the world of the scourge that TOOK HER FROM US!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father backed off, turning around and clasping his hands behind his back. “I have decided that you will begin dragon slaying lessons effective tomorrow. Perhaps the instructors there will be able to make you see sense. The only good dragon is a dead dragon, son; never forget it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally he’d welcome such a proclamation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now his feelings were mixed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Getting to hang out with the other kids without needing to sneak around was good, but the idea of learning how to kill dragons just made him squirm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hurting Kagami?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hurting any other dragon who wasn’t even in control of themselves?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was the last thing he wanted to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lessons start at 9:00 a.m. Do not be late.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father walked out of the room leaving Adrien to his thoughts.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Well at least this place was pretty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The forest stretched on for miles, prey was plentiful, and the SEA-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those rock formations jutting up in the ocean? Looked PERFECT for testing her flight agility.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could see it now, weaving her way around the stones, rocketing her way up them at the very last second to avoid crashing, building up speed to get through that gap in the middle of that one formation</span>
  <em>
    <span> just so</span>
  </em>
  <span>, barrelling through it with closed wings in order to avoid clipping them on the rock and then reopening them on the other side before she could crash-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>YEOWCH</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...Maybe she should stop fantasizing about flying. Fluttering her wings in anticipation was NOT good for her swollen wing joint.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A delicious smell wafted by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sniffed the air, mouth watering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>SMOKED FISH.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally she just ate fish raw, but if she had a bit of time on her paws, she’d slow-cook it with her fire, bringing out some truly delicious flavors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She followed the scent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After awhile a second scent intermingled with the first; the unmistakable smell of HUMAN.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was enough to dampen her enthusiasm a bit, but… well, Adrien and Alya HAD talked about coming into the woods to see her again. So maybe…?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Approaching more cautiously, she finally got to where she could see the culprit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien, fish in hand, strolled through the forest, looking around - probably hoping to catch a glimpse of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know that carrying such delicious food uncovered could attract unwanted company, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled sheepishly. “Oh… yeah. I hadn’t thought about that. I just… I wanted to see you again, and while I’m sure you can fend for yourself, well… I still thought you might like a snack.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She studied him carefully. He could be a little careless perhaps, but he had a good heart. “You are correct. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien reached out, allowing her to delicately take the fish from his grasp, swallowing it whole.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>IT WAS THE BEST FISH SHE’D EVER TASTED.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You really liked it, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abruptly, Kagami realized she’d been purring, her eyes half-lidded with contentment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She quickly cut it off. Her mother had never liked it when she purred, insisting that such obvious displays of what she liked, what she cared for could be turned against her, used to manipulate and hurt her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mother had still insisted on good manners however.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sensing the fish’s location, she brought it back up, slicing off half of it to share.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah- what- Kagami are you ok?! Oh my Odin I’m so sorry I thought the fish was fine-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The half-fish landed at his feet, where she’d been aiming for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sat back, satisfied. “It’s traditional for friends to share meals among dragons. That fish is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten - I wouldn’t want to deprive you the chance of trying it for yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien blinked, picking up the fish with just two fingers and holding it away from him. “Thanks, I really appreciate the gesture, truly, but- I can’t eat this. Not safely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami tilted her head to the side. “Why not? Do you not eat fish?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but… well if too much other stuff - especially saliva, dirt, anything like that - gets on food and we eat it, well… we can easily get sick. We humans have to be REALLY careful when preparing our food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Humans were more delicate than she realized it seemed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We DO share meals with each other as symbols of friendship, bonding and camaraderie,” he continued, “But we have to cut them apart first with knives and forks - special items made for that purpose - and be careful not to get anything that could get us sick onto the food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dragons do not get sick so easily. Also, we do not have hands with which to maneuver any items,” she said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the future I’ll just cut it in half in the first place,” he suggested, “maybe bring a skewer so you can move stuff around without contaminating it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami gulped down the other half of the fish. No sense letting good food go to waste!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien watched her eat, shoulders relaxed, now that he knew she wasn’t sick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have anyone who misses you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “My mother. She has always been very concerned about what would happen if I failed in my hunt, if I did not bring back enough food for the Queen. My not returning… she’ll probably think I was killed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien nodded, mouth set in a thin line. “I know what it’s like to have a family member disappear, to think they’re probably dead but not know for sure. It’s terrible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh yeah, he had asked about his mother before, hadn’t he? “What happened to your mother? I know you asked me if I knew anything about her but… I am not sure why you thought I might know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed, looking at his feet. “A year ago a dragon broke into our house. I was home but… I didn’t get to her in time. All I saw was the dragon flying off with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heh. She was the one who advocated for dragons, who thought maybe we should look for deeper reasons behind your actions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But in the end, she was taken while my father and I were spared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He put his head down between his knees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But only for a minute.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Kagami, what’re you doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Curled around him, she purred, warming herself up with her fire. “When I was really, really young, if I got scared, mother would do this for me - just envelop me in her warmth, her presence. I know you are no young child, but I hope this will still help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those memories from when she was a tiny hatchling, seeing her mother’s naked affection, reserved as she normally was - they’d kept her going through the years, even as she’d had less and less contact with others, less open affection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mother had even purred for her back then, just because it soothed her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened for a moment, then softened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a sigh he lay down on his side, his back to her as she curled around him, embraced him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The full-body contact sent a shudder through her scales, but a good one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t had much physical contact, much touch for the past several years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only now did she realize how much she missed it, craved it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Judging by how Adrien shivered, then sunk into her touch, she bet he was the same way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stayed like that until the sky turned black.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adrien put down his shield, wiping some sweat from his brow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dragon training hadn’t been bad so far, it was mostly just practicing fighting techniques and dodging, as well as learning about dragons’ weaknesses. Fun, but well… trying to practice with a human partner was far different than fighting an actual dragon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huh. Maybe that was why they’d had so little success driving them out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mom had at one point suggested building cages to hold dragons in when captured, to use as training for fighting dragons instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Considering she started arguing that after a particularly small, young-looking dragon had been captured after a raid, he suspected she had ulterior motives.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Father had berated her soundly for questioning him in front of the whole village.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then brought down his ax on the dragon’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t seen that part at least. Mom had taken him in hand, hurrying away from the scene.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the sound had kept replaying over and over in his head for months.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That dragon… how old had they been?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How cognizant?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did they know what was about to happen?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d looked scared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hoped, for their sake, that the dragon had still been thoroughly under the Queen’s mind control. Had had their higher thinking suppressed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Had still been out of it when they were murdered by his father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They HAD to come up with a way to stop that from happening again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least Father was gone again. If he hadn’t been there, if Mom had been able to just talk to the other vikings, maybe, just maybe, she could’ve persuaded them to hold the dragon prisoner rather than kill them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And if the dragon had been held prisoner for long enough, had started talking…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>THAT WAS IT!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*WHUMPH*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“OOPH!” He let out a groan, clutching his side where Max had just walloped him with his stick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice hit,” Adrien said, then winced as his ribs reminded him what a good hit it had indeed been.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I calculated that your distraction increased my chances of success by 300 percent,” Max replied, looking smug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max didn’t exactly look like your average viking. His small build and wiry arms often led people to underestimate him. But what he lacked in brute strength he more than made up for in wits. He’d been training with the local blacksmith a lot, bringing some of his creative ideas to life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d be PERFECT.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Best to test the waters. “I was just thinking about something. What if the dragons didn’t have a choice in raiding us? What if they were forced to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max looked down, hand on his chin. “Hm… that would explain why they insist on raiding us even when we make ourselves such dangerous targets. My analyses have suggested that the risk/reward ratio should have tilted firmly towards ‘risk’ for them now, that they should have started avoiding Berk decades ago. But without more substantial evidence to support that hypothesis, I really can’t say much more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good, so he was receptive to that idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next one would be more of a stretch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And- and what if that force could control the dragons? What if the dragons were as intelligent as you and I, but it dulled their minds? What if dragons could even speak, but that force prevented them from doing so?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max adjusted his glasses (something he’d invented himself; another reason why Adrien would like to have him on his side). “That seems like a lot of speculation. Have you been talking with Jamil?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… er…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok so getting compared to the village’s resident conspiracy theorist wasn’t great. “I- I dunno. The thoughts just popped into my head.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max looked down again, giving the matter serious consideration. “Well… there IS some evidence that dragons are capable of human-like vocalizations. Their screams and yells certainly suggests that.” He gave a small shudder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien couldn’t blame him. Very few people WEREN’T unsettled by that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really want to consider it further,” Max announced abruptly after a moment. “It would mean we’ve been fighting and killing brainwashed people, and unless new evidence emerges to support that, I do not want to dwell on it further. It may decrease my response time to a dragon threat. That can be deadly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien nodded. “Understandable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He suppressed a smile. Looks like this plan might work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just needed to run it by Alya and Kagami and hope they agreed with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t be out here too long, my mentor expects me at the forge in an hour,” Max reminded Adrien and Alya.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This shouldn’t take long,” Adrien said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d asked Max to come to the woods with them, that they had something cool to show him that’d rock his world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s taken fifteen minutes to walk this far and we’re still going and the longer we walk, the longer it’ll take to get back, how much farther-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flash of brilliant red scales was all the warning they got before Kagami leaped down from the rock she’d been waiting on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sure knew how to make an entrance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max backed up, looking at Adrien and Alya fearfully. “Just… just back away with me, slowly. If we run, it has a greater chance of seeing us as prey and chasing us, and I don’t think we can outrun it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a name,” Kagami told him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max’s jaw dropped, his eyes bugging out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien stifled a giggle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya wasn’t quite as successful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami tilted her head to one side. “Is that all humans’ reactions to hearing me speak for the first time, these two,” she gestured with her head, “reacted the same way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien shot her an annoyed looked. “Heeeeey…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am only telling the truth,” Kagami replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max shot him an annoyed look. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien gave him a shit-eating grin. “Yep. Alya and I ran across her yesterday.” He took on a more serious tone. “There’s a lot of things we needed to know, a lot of things we need to try and change.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This wouldn’t happen to be related to those weird speculations you were putting forward during dragon training, would it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you severely underestimated how long this conversation would take.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They sped him through the short version of both the events that had led up to this and what all of them knew, as well as the plan Adrien had come up with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max listened attentively, only occasionally fidgeting as he checked the sun’s position in the sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last, he nodded. “That could work. It HAS to work. I won’t be party to more dragons being killed, not now, not after knowing that they’re thinking, feeling, intelligent creatures-” he glanced at Kagami, “no, that they’re PEOPLE. That they’re not even in control of themselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He winced, looking at the sun again. “But I really have to go now. I’m going to be late as it is, and if we’re gonna do this, it’d be best if I’m NOT in trouble with the person who has the equipment we need.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he was leaving, he turned back to look at Kagami. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Kagami. I hope we can become friends, despite everything that’s happened between vikings and dragons.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami gave a slight nod. “I hope that as well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and you two?” Max looked at Alya and Adrien. “I suggest recruiting some of the others. We’re gonna need all the help we can get.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kagami munched on a deer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’d been a tricky catch. She might be small and nimble, but ultimately she was more a creature of the air than the land. Trees had a tendency of getting in her way and she just wasn’t used to making super-tight turns when she wasn’t soaring through the sky (plus she had to be careful not to jostle her wings.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was still no match for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Electrocution tended to even the playing field.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or completely obliterate the playing field.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was still working on her idioms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Talking to the new human had been an interesting experience. It’d been a short chat, but… well, it was another indication that her growing belief was correct.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Humans were not the monsters they were made out to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that they COULDN’T be. She’d heard too many, too specific stories of cruelty to think that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But if all of dragonkind was judged based on the Queen, they wouldn’t come off smelling like roses either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heh. That was actually the problem now, come to think of it. She made them attack, made them raid, made them little more intelligent than the creatures they ate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not for the first time, she wished she could kill the Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Could free her people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A familiar scent wafted by.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stashing the deer for later (it wouldn’t hurt to have breakfast already caught and ready to eat in the morning), she sauntered over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait, what was that second thing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fish she recognized of course, and the long, thin rod was probably that skewer he talked about getting her, but that other scent?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took another whiff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cooked deer?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it smelled like something else as well, something she couldn’t place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s mead-marinated veal,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “After seeing how much you enjoyed the fish last time, I wanted to get you something I KNEW you wouldn’t have had before, even occasionally.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes widened. “Uh… you don’t have mead, do you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stifled a giggle. She couldn’t help it, he looked like one of her… not ‘friends’ exactly (her mother was very against the concept of her getting too attached to others, especially when she needed to be training, not talking), but… acquaintances, at least. Someone she’d like to know better.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino’d tried to draw her into his social circle, towards other dragons her own age. If her mother was gone, sometimes she’d even been able to sneak over to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Relating to them had been difficult. Nino and his friends had their own customs, their own ways of interacting with each other. She wasn’t sure how much of it came from them being their own friend group and how much just came from them being around her age - she didn’t get to be with other adolescent dragons very often.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, they had tried to include her as best as they could, something she appreciated in the brief snatches of time she spent with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien held out the skewer. She gently took it in her mouth, maneuvering it so she could give portions to both him and herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a bit of trial-and-error, but she got it to work after a little practice, depositing a fish and a piece of veal on the wooden board he’d brought to eat off of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She bit into the veal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And immediately was sent to heaven.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The flavors were like nothing she’d ever tasted before, the meat juicy but having that hint of char she craved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d thought the fish was the best thing she’d eaten, but this? This was another level.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The edges of Adrien’s lips curled upwards. “Glad you’re enjoying it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a start, she realized she’d been purring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t even try to suppress it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mother wasn’t here. Adrien wouldn’t hurt her. And while allowing people in may give her certain vulnerabilities, not letting anyone in at all? Hurt her more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If only she could convince her mother of that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Adrien asked her curiously as he finished off his meal. “What’s life like back with the dragons?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami chewed her food, thinking. “For me, or for most dragons?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He blinked, frowning. “There’s a difference?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My mother has always strived to make sure I never displeased the Queen. That I would never bring back insufficient amounts of food, nor hesitate and get injured on a raid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien winced. “Like I injured you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t reply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t happy about being injured exactly, dreaded what would happen when she returned to the Queen, but…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would rather be here and have my own mind, even if I cannot fly right now, then there and close to the Queen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there any way of taking down the Queen?” Adrien asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She closed her eyes. “I have asked the same question. Not very loudly, for she can hear much, nor that obviously. But we do not obey her because we care for her. We would turn on her in a heartbeat if we could.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien looked to the side. “...So if we took out whatever let her control you guys, would that work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>OH!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are not affected by her song. You wouldn’t be forced to stop, be forced to-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She halted. Remembering what had happened to dragons who had so brazenly tried to commit treason… she’d rather not taste her dinner for a second time involuntarily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to,” Adrien told her softly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, her eyes narrowing. “I want nothing more than for the Queen to be gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pausing, she took a deep breath. “My mother - she tried. Once.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien gulped. “What happened to her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Queen caught her as she charged up her attack. Normally she would have killed her but… well, she was pregnant with me. And while the Queen does not care about us personally, she DOES care about having workers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So she had her blinded instead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shuddered, her tail whipping from side to side. “Mother still managed to bring in enough food to keep us fed as well as please the Queen, but it was rough, especially those first few months. Not that I remember any of it, not having even been laid for most of it, much less have hatched. I only heard whispers about it later, from the older dragons - Mother refused to talk about it except as a warning. To make sure never to give the Queen an excuse to kill me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She glanced at Adrien. His mouth hung partially open, his eyes wide. “I- Wha- How could-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few more seconds of spluttering, his eyes hardened. “Whatever I can do to help, I will. And I bet the others will feel the same way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She only hoped it would be enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held his gaze a few seconds later, then let out a long breath of air. In a softer tone of voice, he continued. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She blinked. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How are you doing? I- living under that stress - it’s bad enough here, not knowing when we’ll be attacked by dragons. But there? Trapped WITH the Queen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shivered. “And- and knowing that she could kill you at a moment’s notice? I just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached out a hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instinctually she moved forward, pressing her snout up against it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was warm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just like he’d been, the other night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To survive under that?” he told her hoarsely, brushing his hands along her scales, leaving her feeling tingly wherever he had touched. “You’re amazing, Kagami.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She just closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Enjoying being able to relax, if only for a little while.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Enjoying being with him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This work now has a TvTropes page!</p><p>https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/DragonFalls</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“How’s the device going?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been working on it, but it’s got a lot of pieces. It’s hard to make every section in secret.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He glanced over at Adrien. “How’s Kagami holding up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien blushed. It was fortunate his father had left to go on his expedition right away; he wasn’t sure he could stay away from her long enough, was patient enough to wait until he wouldn’t get caught.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And if his father caught him, or worse, followed him to Kagami…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shuddered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s holding up pretty well, all things considered,” he replied. “She’s… she’s been through a lot. ALL the dragons have been through a lot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes hardened. “I am NOT letting her - not letting ANY of the dragons - be tormented, used, abused by that… that MONSTER of a Queen anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max gave him a level look. “Have you thought of a way to take her down? Considering the dragons haven’t managed it and Kagami’s explanation of her size and strengths, I give you approximately a 0.1% chance of success as it stands now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien blinked. “0.1% chance?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If all the Queen’s guards happen to be napping or otherwise distracted, the rest of the dragons chance letting you through without alerting anyone, even though they’d be punished severely if it was discovered they did so, and when you try to stab her somewhere, she’s too startled at your audacity to fight back before you incapacitate her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hm… that didn’t sound TOO bad…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien, NO.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien pouted. “But it could wo-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max gave him a</span>
  <em>
    <span> look</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He continued giving his best puppy-dog eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max was unimpressed. “Those are a lot more effective when you aren’t proposing marching to your death.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien held up his hands in surrender. “Fiiiine. What do you suggest then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max looked down uncertainly. “I… I don’t know. Let’s just concentrate on capturing more dragons, freeing them from mind control first. Maybe they’ll have some ideas.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe…” Adrien murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien snuck out of dragon-slaying practice early. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d LOVE to stick around, to talk with Max, Alix, Alya - everyone really. He didn’t get to hang out with them much under normal circumstances, so getting to spend so much time with them? Was a real treat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he wanted to talk to Kagami more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As usual, she emerged from the shadows. Her wings had healed nicely in the past week, the swelling going down significantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wished that could be an entirely happy development. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But a tinge of dread colored Kagami’s voice when she told him of the improvement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If she was able to fly soon, to get away… would she be able to resist the Queen’s call? They were a long distance from her, but… her voice carried far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. It did no good to dwell on that now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You feeling okay Kagami?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gave a curt nod. “Prey is plentiful in this area. And my wings…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She opened them slightly, something she hadn’t been able to do yesterday without wincing. “I think I’ll be able to fly soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking over his shoulder, she gestured with her head. “Who’s your friend?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He blinked. “Friend?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small, red-headed figure emerged from the undergrowth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. ‘emerged’ may be putting it lightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More like ‘front-flipped over a bush’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alix didn’t do anything by halves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She jabbed a finger in Kagami’s direction. “Mind explaining?”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It only took about five minutes to bring her up to speed. It helped that Alix was less concerned with details, and more with ‘oh cool I have a dragon buddy now’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm… you like testing your agility huh? I think I know some places we could use to put that to the test…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...He was getting the feeling it might be best to supervise those two whenever they were together. Alix was known for pulling the craziest stunts of anyone on this hunk of rock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that he was totally immune to getting sucked into those stunts as well but. Well. This wasn’t about him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least they had another person on their side. One who tended to pull insanely risky stunts (a lot of the villagers TRIED to keep an eye on her, half to make sure she didn’t get up to anything too crazy, and half because what she got up to was SO crazy you couldn’t help but watch to see what she pulled next) but…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Alix,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “How’d you feel about causing a distraction?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grinned.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The village was unusually quiet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien worked his way past various blacksmith’s tools, wincing at the pounding of Max’s hammer against the anvil.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’re you doing?” he called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max looked up. “I’m 80% done with the contraption. Another hour and I should reach 100%. Out of curiosity, how’d you get the village to leave for so long?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Truthfully he wasn’t sure, he’d been hanging out with Kagami when Alix had initiated her plan. All he knew was it required three sleds, two lengths of rope, a barrel, a lot of mead, and a duck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never mind that,” he waved Max’s question off. “Do you think this will work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max looked down at what he’d put together so far, brow furrowed. “The models indicate it should, but… there’s still so much we don’t know about dragons. Plus they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hesitated. “I… I can’t guarantee it won’t hurt the dragon at all. Being knocked out of the air, even like this, comes with risks. But it’s the best I can think of right now to incapacitate one long enough for the Queen’s mind control to wear off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien grimaced. That was the rub. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Incapacitating dragons was a dangerous affair for everyone involved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll run it by Kagami first,” he told Max. “These are her people, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Max nodded. “I would expect nothing less.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pointing to a plank, he asked Adrien, “Now could you hold that up against this other piece here? It’ll be easier to hammer it in if it’s being held securely in place.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Adrien wandered around, some cooked lamb in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d been trying out all sorts of recipes, and with the thyme he’d found? This one might be the tastiest meal yet!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t come.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kagami?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked further into the woods, further than he’d gone any other time they’d met up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What if… what if a bear had found her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He THOUGHT she could defeat one just fine, but… he wasn’t sure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or- or one of the less friendly dragons?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or worst of all, a human?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heart hammering, he ran down a nearby hill, stumbling a few times in his haste.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t stop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please be okay please be okay please be okay</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kagami? KAGAMI!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For nearly an hour he wandered around, searching every corner of the woods.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until he came across a clearing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gleam of red caught his eyes, along with a snuffling noise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got a better look at Kagami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Kagami was BORED.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rustled her wings restlessly, wanting desperately to take flight and relieve some pent-up energy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure she could run on the ground, but it wasn’t the same. There weren’t as many tricks she could pull, things she could practice just running.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At home her mother drilled her during any *free* time, on how to hunt, how to fight, what to do if lost - all the various survival skills a dragon could need.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘How to cope with boredom’ was not on the list.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An entrancing smell wafted past.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What… what was this?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t a meal, not like what Adrien brought at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the smell was so delectable, so</span>
  <em>
    <span> irresistible</span>
  </em>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked forward in a daze, coming to a stop in the middle of the field.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>IT WAS SO GOOD.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She collapsed, rolling in the grass, making happy chirping noises.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heaven.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was HEAVEN.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lay there for- she wasn’t sure how long, time lost meaning after awhile, just blissfully soaking up the sun and scents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A golden mop of hair crossed her hazy vision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She blinked lazily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then bolted upright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ADRIEN ADRIEN ADRIEN YOU’RE HERE I MISSED YOU I WAS SO BORED!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FIOHFSUHGIDU” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She got off his face… only to then pounce on his torso, collapsing into a puddle. “I love you,” she purred, wagging her tail. “I love you I love you I love you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” Adrien told her, stroking her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She purred harder, nuzzling into his shoulder. Then turned in a circle a few times, falling asleep on his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kagami? Uh… Kagami? I can’t get up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh. That was nice. Someone couldn’t move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she was out.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien just lay there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, there were worse things than having his dragon… girlfriend? Maybe? Conked out on top of him, purring up a storm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just hoped it didn’t take her TOO long to wake up from whatever-this-was; while he had a lot more freedom right now, he’d still be missed if he didn’t get back to the village in a few hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Picking a handful of the grass, he examined it more closely, giving it a sniff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But this might be worth it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If it could affect other dragons like this besides Kagami…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He may have just found another boon to their ‘free the raiding dragons from the Queen’s influence’ plan.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kagami was testing out her gliding ability when it happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gliding didn’t require as much wing movement - and thus not as much aggravation of her injury - as fully flying did, so it was a good way to monitor her recovery. The valley she’d fallen into when she’d first hurt her wing was an ideal testing ground, what with the shortness of its cliffs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first time went pretty well, some slight discomfort as she opened and then after landing, folded her wings, but that was it. They held her up well in the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t really NEED to do a second test.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...It’d been a week since she was in the air. She was doing a second test.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her muscles tensed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sprang into the air, unfurled her wings, enjoyed the wind rushing past her wings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Raid the humans</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Startled, she couldn’t keep her wings steady, causing her to roll over and crash.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily she was able to avoid landing on a wing joint and injuring herself further.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she had greater concerns.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no more waiting. No more delay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her friends had better be done with their contraption. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen had spoken, and Kagami’s people had no choice but to obey.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gauged the position of the sun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They still had a couple hours until sundown, when the attack would likely occur.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Since her people’s minds were dulled by the Queen, she had to execute strategy FOR them. Attacking at night was advantageous most of the time, with humans’ pitiful night vision. But the Queen’s call to attack had to take into account travel time, so she often called to attack a few hours before night fell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rolling briefly in the dirt to dull her scales (as much as she prided herself on her presentation, camouflage was more important right now. She didn’t need the flash of sunlight on her scales to give her away), she raced off to Berk to warn the others.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Why did there have to be so many humans?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steps raced past.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She retreated into the shadow of a nearby house, hiding underneath some sort of wheeled contraption.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least she was on the smaller end. If she’d been bigger this would have been far more difficult.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Giving the air a few sniffs, she raced off towards a certain house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An awfully BIG house, as it happened. Bigger than any others she’d seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook herself, circling the building (well, as best she could without getting caught).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How to get inside? There weren’t any obvious entrances-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A rope hung down to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And above it-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An opening!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Far off the ground, and it’d be dangerous to try to fly through such a small opening anyway considering her wingspan (though if her wings were at full working capacity she could probably manage it, diving in and folding her wings at the last second).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But right now that wasn’t really an option.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked again at the rope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then a nearby tree.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then back to the rope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hm…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking the rope in her mouth, she wrapped it around the tree, forcing the end of it back through the loop to create a knot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or at least she HOPED it was a knot. Damn humans with their damn hands and their ability to easily manipulate objects.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding a breath, she tested the rope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It bent a little under her weight, but held.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carefully, using her wings for balance, she walked the tightrope to Adrien’s bedroom window.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien unlocked the door to his home, closing it behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’d been a loooong day at Dragon Slaying training. He just wanted to lay down and collapse on his be-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhhh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rustling, banging noise came again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gripping his staff tightly, he inched closer, careful to duck behind cover.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More scrabbling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More footsteps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tensed, rounded the corner-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien we have to prepare NOW!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“AHHHH!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stumbled backwards into some furniture, knocked over a chair, collapsing in a heap on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stared at her, heart hammering. “Ka-kagami?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “The Queen has called. The raid will start. We must prepare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Queen called…?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He frowned. “Are you okay? If you heard that call, her voice…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t known how effective her control would be at such a distance. Nightmares of Kagami’s pupils shrinking, her speech, her mind being stolen from her once again kept invading his sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I could feel it, but it had little power. It was just words, little else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A smirk slowly spread across his face. “Then let’s go free the others.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t gotten a chance to test it yet, though the prototypes worked well-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien nodded impatiently. “I guess we’ll have to test it now then. What better way than out on the field.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are lots of better ways,” Max told him, adjusting his glasses. “But I see your point. We can’t afford to wait. Have you set up a way to retrieve the dragons?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alix is doing her thing. She’s good at distracting people; hopefully she can redirect the rest of Berk away from what we’re doing. Alya, Kagami, and I will try to retrieve the dragons, keep them sedated until the Queen’s orders wear off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A booming</span>
  <em>
    <span> craaaack</span>
  </em>
  <span> ripped through the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien and Max looked at each other, nodded, and wheeled the contraption out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fires burned, people yelled - but few right where they were. Alix did her job as a distraction well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking aim, Adrien looked around, following the noises of the dragons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It being dark out was a hindrance. He couldn’t see the dragons themselves well-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he could see where they covered the stars. For where he could only see black.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Moving it from side to side, he looked carefully, gauged the trajectory-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And fired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And a third time, a tell-tale</span>
  <em>
    <span> thump-screech</span>
  </em>
  <span> ringing out in each instance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He winced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hated doing this, potentially hurting them, but… well… it was even LESS safe for them to be caught by the other Berkians, or to be around the Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least, he hoped it was safer here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For several more tense minutes, he and Max looked around, trying to spot more dragons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But no more appeared. They were either out of range or already on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gradually the noise started dying down. The raid was ending.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just hoped the others had done their parts.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Slinking around the edges of the battles, Alya and Kagami tried to stay hidden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alix had been doing her best to keep the other Berkians attention away from the dragons falling from the sky, and for anyone else Kagami would assume that would be near impossible but… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If anyone had told Alix that, she was pretty sure the girl would have flipped them off and then added in about three stunts along the way just to say ‘screw you’ to so-called “common sense” and “sanity”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now she kinda wanted to tell her that just to see what absurdly impressive feats Alix could pull off…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook herself. No. Bad Kagami. She could egg Alix on later, when her people’s lives weren’t in jeopardy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>AFTER her people shook off their mind control, THEN they could try and see what kind of awesomeness they could pull off together. Especially with how her wings were healing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once she could fly? All bets were off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though Alix wasn’t the one she most wanted to show the beauty of the skies…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A </span>
  <em>
    <span>screech</span>
  </em>
  <span> ripped through the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami winced. She knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant, but it still clawed at her to hear one of her people in pain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d heard it too many times over the years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya looked at Kagami and nodded. Together they raced over to the first dragon.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Kagami stared at the downed dragon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was a little bigger than her, being closer to four and a half feet long at the torso, though with a shorter tail, only maybe two feet long. The shell-like, domed structure of his back made him look bigger than he was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>People, humans or dragons, usually knew better than to try and attack a dragon of his type from above. The modified scales may have been less flexible than regular ones, but they were a hell of a lot tougher, and it wasn’t exactly like dragon scales were easy to break through even under normal conditions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that many people would want to attack Nino. Between his easy-going, but determined demeanour, how hard he worked to reach out to others, to help them, he’d befriended most dragons he’d had the opportunity to talk with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But now?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Nino snarled, pupils constricted, showing no emotions more complex than anger and fear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That part of him, of his self, had been stolen from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She bit back a growl. It wouldn’t do any good. The one she felt like attacking wasn’t here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have it?” She asked Alya.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got it right here,” she moved to pull it out of her bag.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami rapidly backed up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it smelled so good, so nice…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>THIS WAS NOT THE TIME.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya slowly approached Nino.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He snapped his teeth, hissing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as she got closer and closer, the dragon nip held out in front of her like a talisman, his anger, his fear, his tension started dissipating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His pupils widened slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He leaned forward for a good sniff-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And gave a happy purring chirp before collapsing on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami let out a sigh of relief, hearing Alya do the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then looked at the situation and groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d really hoped we’d have to move a smaller dragon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dragging Nino took some work, but at last they got him into the woods. They’d need to carry him further in of course, but that could wait until they had more time. Right now they were on a clock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami fidgeted. It’d been several minutes since the last dragon was shot down. They shouldn’t be able to move much, but if a Berkian stumbled across them…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. ‘What ifs’ wouldn’t help. Best to just work as fast as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You remember where the other dragons fell?” Alya panted, looking like she’d rather lay down and nap for an hour than drag a dragon around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Assuming they haven’t moved, yes.” Yet another way in which excellent hearing was an advantage; she could easily pinpoint where even a distant sound came from.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now if only that hearing acuity wasn’t being commandeered for mind control…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned around, leading the way to the nearer dragon-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could smell dragon - admittedly, that also helped with locating - but that wasn’t all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes narrowed. “We have company. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Human</span>
  </em>
  <span> company.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya shot up. “Where?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami didn’t answer, electing to race off towards the dragon - and the humans - instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t a moment to waste.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Four kids surrounded the dragon, holding their weapons uncertainly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A bit of tension left Kagami’s shoulders. The adults would probably have attacked already, but the kids? None of the people in Adrien’s class had ever killed, or even seriously injured a dragon before. And considering her experience with Adrien’s classmates so far…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Back away from Juleka,” Kagami called out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of them whipped around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their eyes widened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ALYA! LOOK OUT!” the short blond girl yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya put up her hands. “Don’t worry, she isn’t a threat,” she told them. “And under normal circumstances, that dragon over there,” she pointed at Juleka, “wouldn’t be either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four kids looked puzzled at that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s under mind control,” Kagami explained, “All the dragons who attacked Berk are. We’re working to incapacitate them long enough for the mind control to wear off, for my people to return to their senses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kids stared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looked at Alya.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then at Kagami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And finally to Juleka, lying still, growling slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The red-headed boy shrugged. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami blinked. “Okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Admittedly it hadn’t been difficult to persuade any of the people she’d run into about the plight of her people, but that was still awfully quick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This dragon fell out of nowhere, the adults are nowhere to be seen, and now you, a talking dragon, are right here in front of us,” he explained. “At this point I’m ready to just go with it. I’ve been around Kim and Alix my whole life. This isn’t the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami opened her mouth… then promptly shut it. Now was not the time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to get this Dragon nip close enough to Juleka for her to sniff. It’ll knock her out,” Alya told the blond girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl looked at Alya. Her lips thinned, pressing together into a straight line. “Not you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya blinked. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You look exhausted. Let me do this.” Her tone brooked no argument.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya handed the Dragon nip over to the small girl. “Just… be careful Rose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marching forward, Rose held the Dragon nip out in front of her, much like Alya had with Nino. Juleka growled, attempting to back up, seeming almost scared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rose’s expression softened. “It’s ok,” she murmured, “this’ll make you feel better. You don’t have to be scared or angry anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami blinked. Was it her imagination, or did Juleka’s pupils actually widen slightly at that? And was she actually relaxing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juleka leaned forwards, her long neck straining to reach Rose. She sniffed delicately at the plant, relaxed completely- and passed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rose stroked her head. Juleka purred in her sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami tore herself away from the (extremely adorable) sight. “Rose? We have to move her now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten minutes later, they’d hauled Juleka over to Nino. Unfortunately Juleka was even bigger than Nino, and a lot longer. Everyone (except herself of course) was sweating and panting by the time they were done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are *gasp* all *wheeze* dragons that heavy?!” Nathaniel (she’d gotten to know all the kids names during the struggle to move Juleka) asked incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Kagami told him. “Some are much bigger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kim grinned. Unlike Rose, Nathaniel, or Mylene, he didn’t even look winded. “I hope the next dragon’s larger,” he said excitedly. “Alix and I have a bet on who can move the heaviest thing we can find the furthest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathaniel shot Kim a dismayed look. “You can’t even move Juleka by yourself, how do you expect to move a bigger dragon without help?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I’ll have exercised more and become stronger by then!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nathaniel just shook his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A crashing sound interrupted their conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami sniffed, then tensed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound came from the same direction as the last dragon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took off, the humans hurrying in her wake.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Great. Just GREAT.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It HAD to be Ivan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Don’t get her wrong, Ivan was normally fine. Not the best at words, but a nice enough guy. He reminded her of herself sometimes; he struggled in social situations like she sometimes did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, he was big.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like REALLY big.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Juleka had been pretty long, with her measuring eight feet from nose to tail tip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ivan was ten feet long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And unlike Juleka, most of that was torso.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You HAD to wish for a bigger dragon!” Nathaniel groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami grimaced. They’d struggled enough transporting Nino and Juleka. Lugging Ivan over to the two of them in a timely fashion just wasn’t going to happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plus…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ivan turned around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bolas they’d used with the other dragons had worked ok. But it was geared towards dragons more Kagami’s size, not Ivan’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which meant that while it had been able to knock Ivan from the air, the rope hadn’t been able to wrap around him and constrict his movements to the extent that it had with the other two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which meant a pissed off very large dragon was lumbering around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay back!” Kagami hissed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Ivan heard her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alya,” Kagami told her, keeping her tone as steady and neutral as possible, “Give me the Dragon Nip.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya blanched. “But you know what it does to you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami let out a breath. “I’m the only one who can take his attacks, and he’s less likely to attack me in the first place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ivan stalked towards her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no time!” she snapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya held the Dragon Nip out to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took it in her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>OH.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt like giggling. What’d she been worried about again?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh look at all her new friends gathered around here! Were they up to playing a game?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A large movement caught her attention. Ivan ran at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh how fun! A game of chase! She’d heard about this kind of thing, but had never gotten to play for herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But where was the finish line.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flash ran through her brain of Nino and Juleka sleeping in a heap nearby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah yes! That’d be perfect!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She bounced off, Ivan hot in pursuit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t catch her of course, while he was big, he wasn’t particularly fast or agile - unlike her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She actually had to stop a few times, wagging her tail, for Ivan to catch up before bouncing off again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later they reached the dragon pile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I win!” she mumbled as best she could without letting go of the plant in her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why DID she have a plant in her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was supposed to do something here, wasn’t she? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hm…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh yeah, she needed to give him the plant! It was a nice consolation prize for losing the race.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ivan ran over to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He must want to receive his prize!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She threw it into his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He swallowed it, stopping dead in his tracks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then keeled over, snoring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking at the sleeping dragons, Kagami felt her own eyes drooping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Climbing into the dragon pile, she curled up and let herself drift away.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
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